Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Green Valley, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Green Valley in the 24 hours to 8:37 am PST (16:37 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 13 km (8 mi) S, at 11:09 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Green Valley
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Green Valley, CA, at 3:15 am PST on 27 January 2020 (11:15 UTC), 4.4 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km NNW of Green Valley, CA
10 km (6 mi) E of Napa, CA · 61 km (38 mi) NNE of San Francisco, CA
- When
- 3:15 am PST on 27 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Green Valley, CA · earthquakes near Green Valley
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 4.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Solano County, 22 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Green Valley fault, 3 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2471 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Green Valley, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Green Valley, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Green Valley, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Napa 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2019-10-15 — about 11,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 14 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.4 South of Elmira, California · 25 km E of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 38.2970, -122.1850. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solano County, CA | 22 km (13 mi) | E | earthquakes near Solano County |
| Napa County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Napa County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Yolo County, CA | 49 km (31 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Yolo County |
| Marin County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| Sonoma County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Sonoma County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 3km SW of American Canyon, CA
- 1.5 12km E of Yountville, CA
- 1.6 12km E of Angwin, CA
- 1.8 1km WNW of Kensington, CA
- 1.8 7km N of Orinda, CA
- 1.9 5km ENE of Vallejo, CA
- 1.5 12km NE of Yountville, CA
- 1.9 1km NW of Pleasant Hill, CA
- 1.6 2km NNW of Crockett, CA
- 2.0 2km NNW of Crockett, CA
- 2.0 2km E of Berkeley, CA
- 2.6 2km E of Berkeley, CA
- 1.9 1km WSW of Pittsburg, CA
- 1.7 1km S of Kensington, CA
- 2.0 1km W of Pleasant Hill, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.